Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
Add new comment
19 comments
Takes hands off bars to eat gel.
Takes hands off bars to press comp button.
Takes hands off bars to indicate.
Takes hands off bars to wave traffic through from behind on lanes where drivers view is obscured and you can see it is clear for them to pass.
Takes hands off bars to say thank you to the considerate drivers who give way and who wait until it is clear to pass.
Takes hand off bars to wipe spray from glasses.
Takes hands off bars to pick up bottle from rack, drink, and return bottle to cage.
Takes hands off bars to high five.
Takes hands off bars to take sunglasses off.
Takes hands off bars reaches into rear pocket takes out arm warmers and puts them on.
Takes both hands off bars to stretch back.
Takes feet off pedals splashes through puddle.
Multitasking is the way of the world, non?
Seriously Road.CC?....
Will put this down to a slow day at the office but think we all have a responsibility here to promote safe cycling and crap like this doesn't help.
Dear me.
And a ton or so of metal!
The guy is a legend!
Selfish prick. In terms of the sentiment behind the action, I don't see the difference between this idiot and a motorist texting on their mobile.
Probably about 20-70 mph difference I would have thought?
What if you saw someone in a car, in slow moving traffic solving a Rubiks Cube? Still no issue.
He's got skills, but his bike handling was all over the shop. Just as well someone wasn't passing him when he lost his balance (several times).
Whats that got to do with the sentiment?
Plenty, I think, if you want a serious answer rather than flippant comment.
While a collision with a slow-moving cyclist still has the potential to badly hurt a pedestrian/cyclist, it is much less likely to do so than one with a moving car. A texting motorist could be (and often is) doing so on a fast road at high speed, again with far higher potential for loss of life. Text messages are also arguably much more demanding in terms of concentration - you have to read one or a succession of messages on a relatively small screen, and you have to be able to type using an on-screen keyboard or small keys, so you have to pay quite close attention to the phone to do it (and I don't know about you but I rarely see texting motorists holding their phone up nice and high so they can still see the traffic well).
So that's close mental concentration and visual focus on a small device that is going to take your view away from the road ahead. Not to mention that what you read is likely to distract you. Contrast to Mr I-can-do-a-Rubiks-Cube-while-cycling where you have a larger, easier to manipulate object and a much better chance of seeing a hazard. I would also assume that this guy probably doesn't need to concentrate all that hard on doing a cube, which I suspect was his point.
Not condoning either, but I think the sentiment behind "let me just have this text conversation while I drive along" is quite a bit different from "let me show off with this Rubik's Cube on a Boris Bike" (which if it isn't a combination to automatically woo the ladies I don't know what else is).
No: the real scandal here is that he appears to have his saddle way too low. Shocking.
Obviously theres loads of physical differences. That's not my point.
The sentiment is "I am going to perform a task that distracts me from concentrating on the public space through which I am travelling. It will mean I am slower at reacting to and recognising hazards, as such I am endangering fellow cyclists and pedestrians who I am sharing the road with."
..I would agree and also think there is a potential problem with consequential physical issues, e.g. if there was a motor vehicle approaching at some speed towards our cube twirling hero, and his lack of concentration or control causes him to swerve, fall off or cause someone else to - the vehicle may well take avoiding actions. That could end well or not so well as we've unfortunately seen recently.
a difference of a couple of tons and quite a lot of miles per hour maybe?
I'll be sure to try that on my next commute along the Marylebone Road.
Blockhead
Quite skilful, but please not on a public road! And if you want to really impress with your multi-tasking cube-solving, try this - solving three cubes simultaneously whilst juggling them! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_gHa2x2OQA
nice trick, but no.
At the risk of being a killjoy, that's got to be a bookable offence.
Skills